The present invention relates to bicycle safety devices, and, in particular, to bicycle lights which increase the night-time visibility of the bicycle and rider.
Bicycling, although a healthy, relaxing and frequently competitive pastime by day, becomes significantly more dangerous at night. Recent studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conclude that although it comprises only approximately 4 percent of total cycling activity, night-time riding accounts for 42 percent of all cycling fatalities. Thus it is approximately 10 times more likely for a cyclist to be killed while riding at night than during the day.
A significant percentage of those night-time fatalities is the result of collisions between automobiles and young riders under the age of 14. Very often, motorists involved in bicycle collisions claim that they were unable to see the cyclist-victim in time to avoid the collision.
In an effort to stem this rising tide of fatalities, most jurisdictions have passed statutes which require all cycles to be equipped with front, side and rear reflectors. Unfortunately, these reflectors provide a limited reflective surface area and are detectible by motorists at a distance of 1000 feet away on a clear night. Quite often, when a motorist finally realizes there is a bicycle ahead, it is too late to take evasive action.
Conventional bicycle lights fall into two broad categories, generator powered, and battery powered. Although they offer greater visibility than reflectors, generators often only provide a thin rear beam. Moreover, generators are often unreliable, relatively expensive, and undesirable for use by younger riders due to the drag they place on the wheel.
Battery-powered lights offer the advantages of lower initial cost and higher reliability, but often are not as visible as are generators. Some types of battery-powered bicycle lights are designed to be detachable from the bike to double as flashlights. A drawback of these latter devices is that the require separate brackets which must be accurately and often fairly permanently positioned on the frame or handle bars of the bicycle. Alternately, battery-powered lights have been designed to be strapped to the arms, legs, torso or helmet of the rider. These latter devices are usually uncomfortable to wear and provide a limited amount of visibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,409 discloses a bicycle light designed to provide a source of moving light by employing a plurality of battery-powered lights permanently mounted to the spokes so as to be visible from the side. Although the concept of moving lights increases visibility, this apparatus is cumbersome to install and maintain in that it calls for elaborate wheel covers. Furthermore the devices must be dismantled before batteries can be replaced.
Regardless of the above mentioned safety statistics, and the wide variety of bicycle lights currently available, younger riders very often feel a sense of invulnerability on the road, and as such do not wish to be bothered with conventional lights of any type. Members of this high risk group should have access to a light which is both enjoyable and exciting to use to insure that it will be employed on night-time rides. The ideal bicycle light should also be inexpensive to be affordable to young riders.
Thus, there is a need for a low cost bicycle safety light which renders the cyclist highly visible to motorists, which is easy to install and maintain, and which will be accepted for long term use by younger riders.
Consequently, it is a major objective of the present invention to provide a bicycle light which transforms the cyclist into a highly visible object.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spoke mounted bicycle light which is secured to, and by, the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a spoke mounted bicycle light which produces a radially directed beam of light.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an economical bicycle light which will be accepted for use by younger riders.